Letter to the editor: Cramer doesn’t need to tell constituents what his job is

George Sinner, Democratic U.S. House of Representatives candidate, held a press conference July 22 calling out Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., for missing 11 percent of his votes over the past three months. Cramer responded by saying there is more to the job than showing up for votes.

Well, thanks for stating the obvious, congressman. North Dakotans don’t need Cramer to tell us what the job is. We already know. Former Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., represented North Dakota for 18 years and only missed 2 percent of his votes. In fact, Cramer has missed more votes in his first 18 months than Pomeroy did in his first four years.

Not only that, but during last year’s government shutdown, when 800,000 federal employees wanted to show up for work, they couldn’t because of votes Cramer made. While Cramer played politics, federal employees sat at home hoping they would be able to pay their mortgages or rent. While Cramer sat in Washington, D.C., and collected his paycheck (Sens. John Hoeven and Heidi Heitkamp donated theirs), those federal employees crossed their fingers and hoped they would have enough money to feed their family. As an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran and a former Department of Veterans Affairs employee, I spent the 16 days of the shutdown working and worrying about whether or not I would receive my benefits that I rely on to support my family. It appears that Cramer didn’t have these same fears.

Sinner has proposed not paying members of Congress unless they actually do their job. If I don’t show up for work, I don’t get paid. Cramer hasn’t showed up for work, but he still collects a check. Does he think Congress deserves special privileges?

Once again, Cramer doesn’t need to tell us what his job is. We already know. After 18 months in Congress, the only question I have is, does he?